1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to therapeutic beds, and more particularly to an improved patient centering mechanism for a therapeutic bed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of therapeutic supports for bedridden patients have been well known for many years. For example, such therapeutic supports include but are not limited to low air loss beds, fluidized bead beds, and patient positioning beds that rotate the patient between opposite angular positions. Patient positioning has been used in hospital beds for some time to enhance patient comfort, prevent skin breakdown, improve drainage of bodily fluids, and facilitate breathing. One of the goals of patient positioning has been maximization of ventilation to improve systematic oxygenation. Various studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of body positioning and mobilization on impaired oxygen transport.
Typically, patient positioning beds have lateral support pads for supporting the sides of the patient during rotation. It is known in the art for such lateral support pads to be laterally adjustable. For purposes of rotational stability, it is desirable for the patient to be centered on the patient support platform. Therefore, it would be an advancement in the art to provide adjustable lateral support pads that automatically center the patient on the patient support platform. In conjunction with automatically centering lateral support pads, it would also be an advancement to provide symmetric leg adductors/abductors.
In U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/821,552 filed Mar. 29, 2001, and 09/884,749 filed Jun. 19, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,833 the first of which is herein incorporated by reference, a prone positioning bed is disclosed that encompasses several distinct innovations. This divisional application is directed to mechanisms for centering a patient on a therapeutic bed.
A patient positioning mechanism for a patient support platform is provided comprising a threaded rod mounted to the patient support platform, the threaded rod having first and second ends, the threaded rod having left-hand threads on the first end and right-hand threads on the second end; a first mount threadably engaged with the left-hand threads of the threaded rod; a second mount threadably engaged with the right-hand threads of the threaded rod; a first patient support accessory mounted to the first mount; and a second patient support accessory mounted to the second mount. The rod, when rotated, is operable to move the first and second patient support accessories in opposite directions. In one embodiment, a manually operable handle is connected to the threaded rod for effecting rotation of the threaded rod to produce symmetric movement of the first and second patient support accessories. In another embodiment, a motor-driven actuator is operably connected to the threaded rod for effecting rotation of the threaded rod to produce symmetric movement of the first and second patient support accessories.
The first and second patient support accessories may comprise lateral support pads, leg adductors. This patient positioning mechanism is suitable for both traditional therapeutic patient-positioning beds that laterally rotate patients in the supine position and for the more state-of-the-art prone positioning bed described in the preferred embodiment.
It is an object of this invention to provide a therapeutic bed having a pair of symmetrically mounted lateral support pads that serve to automatically center the patient on the patient support platform.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the annexed sheets of drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.